Kalen DeBoer understanding why Alabama fell short in big moments in 2024

ATLANTA — Alabama’s first season under head coach Kalen DeBoer in 2024 saw high highs and low lows. Those highs included some of the biggest wins of the college football season, including a home win over Georgia and a road win over LSU, while the lows included losses to .500 teams in Vanderbilt and Oklahoma.

During his opening address at SEC Media Days to kick off the 2025 season, DeBoer explained that the Crimson Tide’s offseason has been spent examining why specifically the aforementioned letdowns occurred.

“We got to be better in the big moments. We lost some close games last year,” DeBoer said. “We had chances maybe not even in the fourth quarter, but early in the game to separate ourselves or make a play here or there. Whether it was the belief or whether it was the confidence, a lot of that just comes through repetitions. We really had a great offseason understanding where we fell short, why we fell short. Not just the what and the how but the why.”

Alabama lost four games in 2024 and failed to win 10 games for the first time since the 2007 season. Of those losses, three of them (Vanderbilt, Oklahoma and Michigan) came against unranked opponents.

As the Tide’s coaches and players have sought out the reasonings behind these losses, the players have pointed to a lack of intensity during preparation that needed to be addressed.

“I would say it all comes down to the preparation,” offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor said. “Maybe sometimes we were a little lax in that game week, and we’ve talked about that as a group, as an offensive line group, as a whole offensive group. We’ve said it needs to be more focused with more intent on those game weeks. It doesn’t start on Thursday, it starts on that Sunday after the game when you go watch film and you’re introduced to a new opponent. You have a new opportunity.”

DeBoer is confident that whenever Alabama finds itself in similar situations in 2025, his players are going to be adequately prepared to face them and perform at a higher level.

“I’m excited about our guys taking those next steps, understanding when we get in those moments this year, those critical times, how to come through and make the play that’s necessary to go win football games,” DeBoer said.

The difference in Alabama’s performances at home compared to on the road was also addressed by DeBoer. The Crimson Tide went undefeated at home throughout the 2024 season, including wins over two teams that finished the year ranked in the top-15 in Georgia and South Carolina.

Games on the road were a different story, with Alabama suffering all three of its regular season losses (Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Oklahoma) in hostile road environments.

“We were undefeated at home, but we also struggled on the road,” DeBoer said. “We start this year on the road. We go to Florida State. We know that they’re going to have something to prove, as well. That’s going to be a great environment to get tested early on.

“We don’t need to look anything beyond that as far as our preparation or what might lie because none of it matters unless we take care of business and do what we’re doing, being our best in that week one game against Florida State. Being on the road, playing better on the road, certainly has to be a point that happens this year in our football program.”

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